Friday, 2 November 2012

NDIS legislation to be introduced to Parliament next week

Media release from Every Australian Counts, 31st October:A victory for campaigners, but still no fundingThe disability community has welcomed today’s promise by the Federal Minister for Disability Reform that the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) legislation will be introduced to parliament in the final sitting week of this year.

The announcement made by Minister Jenny Macklin during her Press Club address comes a few days after more than 40,000 people attended more than 1700 DisabiliTEA events across Australia calling for the NDIS to be fully funded and rolled out nationally.

Every Australian Counts Campaign Director, John Della Bosca, said the Government’s commitment to introduce the NDIS legislation is a significant milestone towards making the NDIS real.

However, he cautioned that the legislation would not be a magic fix for disability support, with a commitment to $5 billion needed in next May’s budget for the full roll out of the scheme.

“The Every Australian Counts campaign commends on the Federal Government on its commitment to introduce legislation in support of the NDIS this year. While we look forward to seeing and discussing the detail of the legislation, we commend this important milestone.” Mr Della Bosca said today.

“Australia’s disability system is broken, it funds support for just five in every ten people who need help. This systemic underfunding means children go years desperately needing a new wheelchair, adults are only supported to have two showers a week and young people are abandoned to live in aged care facilities.

“The introduction of the NDIS legislation alone will not make the NDIS a reality. In politics, nothing is truly locked in until it is financed in the budget – the campaign has been calling on the leaders of both major parties to give a financial commitment to fund the full roll out of the NDIS by 2018.

“Every Australian with a significant disability deserves the support they need to reach their potential in life. It’s up to our political leaders to deliver a sustainable funding model that makes this a reality,” he said.